Manchester United beat West Ham 4-1 on goals from Ronaldo, Carrick and Tevez. That puts Manchester within one win from the Premier League title. Ronaldo continues his incredible season scoring his 39th and 40th goal. If Manchester wins at Wigan next Sunday they will get the title because of a better goal difference compared to Chelsea.

Totenham outplayed Reading and sent them into the relegation zone with a 1-0 win. Robie Keane scored the lonely goal in the 16th minute.

The visiting Wigan secured their Premier League safety by overcoming host Aston Villa by a score of 2-0. Both goals were scored by Antonio Valencia with only 10 minutes apart. A disappointing loss for Aston Villa who is chasing the fifth spot in the standings to qualify for the UEFA Cup.

The dead last Derby County were no match for the Blackburn Rovers and lost to them 3-1. Derby surprisingly opened the scoring with a goal in the 19th minute but Blackburn responded with three of their own in the second half. With only one game left Derby became the team the with lowest points scored in Premier League history.

Middlesbrough needed a win to secure their Premiership future and they did just that by beating Portsmouth 2-0. Both of Middlesbrough’s goals were headed in from corner kicks. Portsmouth had several very good chances but Milan Baros’ and Niko Kranjcar’s shots went wide.

Fulham recorded their third win in four matches to edge towards Premier League safety. This was a crucial match for both, and Fulham came on top by beating Birmingham 2-0. Brian McBride and Erik Nevland scored one goal each and kept Fulham’s survival hopes alive.

CZECHO’S SOCCER CORNER

This is the second time in a row that Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the Professional Footballers Association Player of the Year. The Young Player award went to Arsenal’s Fabregas. Ronaldo is having an exceptional season so far, leading the top scorers competition with 28 goals.

The fight which broke out between Manchester United players and Chelsea’s staff after their match is being investigated by FA. The FA is asking for CCTV footage of the incident. The fight started after Man Utd substitutes were on the warm down practice and refused to leave the field. According to the witnesses Chelsea staff provoked the fight with verbally insulting Patrice Evra.

LA Galaxy striker Landon Donovan recorded a hat-trick in the match with rival Chivas USA. The LA derby was won by Galaxy by a score of 5-2. Donovan is the MLS top scorer with eight goals and he contributes his success to having David Beckham as a team-mate.

AC Milan president Adriano Galliani hinted that the club may have to sell Kaka because of its debt. Milan needs 24 million euros to cover the debt and if they sell Kaka for 55 million they still have enough left to buy Ronaldhino. The Brazilian is supposedly on his way to AC Milan.

Chelsea may encounter some problems on their planned tour of Asia. The Muslim leaders in Malaysia are calling for a boycott of their match because of the two Israeli members on Chelsea’s team. Coach Avram Grant and defender Tal Ben Haim are Israeli citizens. Malaysia doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Israel and most of its population is Muslim.

The Dutch Cup was won on Sunday by Feyenoord who beat Roda SC by a score of 2-0. Feyenoord who missed the race for Eredivisie title this season will qualify for the UEFA Cup because of this. It’s Feyenoord’s 11th Cup trophy and their first since 1995.

ESPN2 is showing second leg of UEFA Champions League semi-finals. All times are EST. Enjoy the show.

Premier League, Serie A, Primera Liga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga points standings after the weekend matches.

Premier League-Saturday April 26.

Chelsea beat Manchster United with a controversial penalty and evened up the points in the standing.

Fulham fought back from down 2-0 and managed to capture a precious three points in match with Manchester City.

Tottenham totally outplayed Bolton but the visitors secured a valuable point in their relegation battle.

Liverpool overcame a 2-0 deficit and Birmingham lost more points in their fight to survive.

Wigan tied with Reading and can breath easier being five points from relegation zone.

Newcastle was close to going home with a win, but West Ham Geremi’s goal in the 45th minute got them only a tie.

CZECHO’S SOCCER CORNER

Ruud van Nistelrooy was back at training for the first time since his right ankle surgery. He is planning to return to action next week for the match with Osasuna. The 31 year old striker had his surgery done in his native Holland.

We could see David Beckham at the World Cup 2010 according to Fabio Capello. He said “The door is open. He played the last game and did well against France.” Beckham would be 35 by then and if he is healthy and fit he could very well be on the national team.

MLS team FC Dallas lost its first match of the season to New England Revolution on Thursday night. The visiting side was missing seven regular players, but they managed to dig out a 1-0 win. Khano Smith scored the lonely goal in the 72th minute, his first this season.

Inter Milan denied talking or contacting Arsenal’s Alexander Hleb in a statement on their website. Arsene Wenger earlier warned Inter with possible report to FIFA about the whole situation. Wenger was furious after Inter’s coach Mancini made public comments about signing Belarus midfielder.

Chelsea’s management showed real compassion by letting Frank Lampard decide when to return to play after his mother passed away two days ago. Lampard spent last week by her bedside missing two Premier League matches. He returned to play against Liverpool in Champions League on Tuesday.

According to Italian media, Gennaro Gattuso wants to leave AC Milan this summer. Gattuso who is seeking a less intense climate expressed desire to play overseas. Maybe the NY Red Bulls would come up with enough money to sign this fierce player whose nickname is “the Snarler.”

Fox Soccer Channel TV schedule for this weekend Serie A and Premier League matches. All times are EST. Enjoy the show.

Ibrox/Glasgow

The Rangers survived the first half pressures from Fiorentina and managed a goalless draw at home. Fiorentina dominated the field but got only a few chances and could not score.

Mutu fired a couple of shots, but mostly from long distance. He also used his hand at one point to control the ball but escaped without a yellow card.

The Rangers’ biggest scoring opportunity came from Jean-Claude Darchutte, but his cross was deflected straight into Frey’s hands.

The second half saw the Rangers gain more ball possession, but once again Fiorentina was the one with more scoring chances. Mutu struck a kick from 30 yards, but Alexander saved that one.

Christian Vieri who came on in the 80th minute fired a shot from a free kick, but the shot was deflected over the crossbar.

Fiorentina went home with a precious tie, but the Rangers probably think they have a good chance to advance because of their away match record this season.

Allianz Arena/Munich

We saw a repeat of Tuesday’s Champions League match between Liverpool and Chelsea. Bayern Munich was leading till the 60th minute when Lucio’s own goal gave Zenit a big chance for the second leg in St. Petersburg.

Bayern who is the favorite to win the UEFA Cup this year surely started with confidence.

Franck Ribery opened the score with a penalty kick in the 18th minute. Zenit’s goalie saved the spot kick, but Ribery put it in on the rebound.

Bayern upped the tempo and put pressure on Zenit. But the visitors pushed Bayern back in the second half as the match progressed. Pogrebyak and Tymoschuk had couple of good chances, but the score stayed the same.

Bayern had the last chance by Podolski in injury time, but he put it wide after a free kick from Lucio.

Zenit have themselves good opportunity to reach the finals, but Bayern won’t give up so easily.

The UEFA Cup action continue on Thursday with the first leg of the Cup’s semi-finals. Fox Soccer Channel showing both of the matches. All times are EST. Enjoy the soccer show.

What a start to the game. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a crucial penalty only two minutes into the match after a handball by Gabriel Milito. Manchester United went into shell-shock after that and rarely threatened Barcelona’s goalie.

Barca pressed forward and got itself several chances. Eto’o had one in the 34th minute, but Wes Brown blocked his shot. At this point of the match Wayne Rooney became almost a defender and Ronaldo could not do much either.

Barcelona continued to dominate the second half of the match by throwing everything at Man Utd. Eto’o had several more chances, but could not score.

Michael Carrick had his opportunity to be the saviour for Manchester but his shot from inside the box hit the side-netting.

Terry Henry came in for Deco in the 77th minute and a few minutes later tested Van der Sar, but the goalie managed to catch the shot. Before the end of regular time, Henry got another chance with a free kick but Van der Sar cover that one as well.

Barcelona tried everything tonight and the statistics speak for themselves:

Ball possession: Barcelona 73% - Man Utd 27%

Shots: Barcelona 20 - Man Utd 7

Manchester United went home with a precious tie and find themselves within reach of the UEFA Champions League finals.

The first leg of the English soccer war ended in a draw on Tuesday night at Anfield. Liverpool led by one goal till injury time, but unfortunately John Arne Riise’s own goal gave Chelsea a slight advantage for the second leg.

Chelsea opened the match with more possessions but their first chance from Drogba’s free kick was too wide. Kuyt had a big chance in the 13th minute after Chelsea’s goalie Cech dropped the ball. Another chance came in the 31st minute when Torres solo escaped the Chelsea defense but Cech covered his shot.

Two minutes before the end of the first half, after a mistake by Lampard, Kuyt scored from six yards beating out Cech. So, the first half ended with Liverpool leading 1-0.

Liverpool started the second half with a high tempo and their goalie Pepe Reina practically became a spectator. On the other side of the field Cech had his hands full. In the 58th minute a shot by Babel missed the woodwork by inches.

Things turned round for Chelsea after Grant sent in Kalou for Joe Cole. Michael Ballack tried to head one in but Reina got lucky. Chelsea showed bigger determination in the closing minutes but Liverpool’s defense kept them at bay.

Cech made a brilliant save in injury time after a shot from Torres. Than after Kalou’s cross Risse got confused and sent a header to his own goal. This means that Chelsea needs only a scoreless tie at home to advance to the finals of the UEFA Champions League.

History repeats itself and once again we will see Chelsea face their rivals Liverpool in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. It is the third time in the last four years for both teams to reach the semi-finals of this prestige competition. Liverpool got there by beating another English team Arsenal and Chelsea narrowly overcame Fenerbahce of Turkey.

The first leg is at the Anfield on Tuesday and it could be a tight affair based on previous meetings. Only three goals were scored in last six matches between these two teams. Excellent defense and world class goaltenders just may be the reason why.

Chelsea seems to have a slight advantage by playing the second leg at home. The team is hoping not to repeat last year’s match, where Chelsea won at home but lost it on penalty kicks at Anfield.

Both teams will have almost their strongest squads. Chelsea will miss Michael Essien due to his second yellow card, but they could count on Frank Lampard being back. He missed the last two Premier League matches because of his mother’s illness. Liverpool’s captain Steven Gerrard should be fit even after suffering a neck injury on Saturday.

Chelsea who is also chasing a Premier League title is hoping that a third time will bring them luck and they will finally reach the finals. Their coach Avram Grant summarized it by saying “We have lost at Liverpool two times but that belongs to history now. We can create history, that is our aim.”

Liverpool will try to extend their streak of reaching the finals for the seventh consecutive time. The only time they didn’t advanced was back in 1965 when they lost to Inter Milan. What a record.

Possible squads for Tuesday match:

Chelsea: Cech-Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho, A. Cole-Lampard, Makelele, Ballack-J. Cole, Kalou-Drogba

Liverpool: Reina-Carragher, Hyypia, Skrtel, Aurelio-Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard, Kuyt-Babel, Torres

CZECHO’S SOCCER CORNER

AS Roma’s main man Francesco Totti suffered ligament injury on Saturday. He underwent successful surgery on Sunday to repair the damaged knee. Roma’s club doctor believes four months of recovery time should be enough for Totti, based on previous cases that the club dealt with.

PSV Eindhoven won the Eredivisie Championship on Sunday for the fourth time in row. They beat Arnhemu by a score of 1-0 in the last round of the Championship. PSV’s biggest rival Ajax Amsterdam finished second only three points behind.

Sunday’s draw for the Olympic Games in China gave the US team pretty tough opponents. They are going to meet Holland, Nigeria and Japan in Group B. Nigeria won the gold medal in 1996, Japan qualified for the eighth time and Holland is the current Under-21 European Champion.

Bayern Munich won the German Cup for the fourteenth time by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 and guess who scored both goals? Yes, once again Luca Toni took care of the scoring. This was his fourth straight match in which he scored two goals.

Rapid Vienna won an unprecedented 32nd Austrian Bundesliga title. They won their very first Championship back in 1912. This make them one of the most successful teams on the domestic scene in Europe and possibly in the World.

London Donovan came through for LA Galaxy, scoring both goals in their draw with Houston Dynamo. David Beckham had assist on both of them. Galaxy was trailing behind till the 84th minute when Donovan scored the tying goal with a sliding shot. The tie means another precious points loss for LA Galaxy.

Standings in Premier League, Primera Liga, Serie A, Eredivisie, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga after the weekend of April 19-20. The Dutch Eredivisie played its last round on Sunday and was won by PSV Eindhoven.